Nigeria's former head of state, Ernest Shonekan, has said that the future belongs to only those telecommunications companies that can offer full range and enhanced quality of service to their customers.

He spoke in Lagos at the weekend at the launch of Anabel Mobile, an integrated mobile device and telecom content company.

He said that the issue of quality of service has become a major challenge facing various telecom networks in the country, room will only be made for operators to exist in the market provided they give the best of their services.

Shonekan said that though vandalism of base stations and fibre optic facilities, erratic power supply from the PHCN and the high cost of providing backup power and other logistics for base stations have hampered quality of service provided by the operators. He said there was need, however, for them to increase the roll of their services to meet the challenges posed by inadequate network capacity and to meet the needs of their ever-increasing subscribers.

The former former head of state also called for the extension of more incentives to the telecom sector as part of the enabling environment that would encourage local and foreign investors to be willing to locate their telecom industries in Nigeria.

There is need for more enabling environment to attract more foreign investors into the sector, he said because the global financial crisis, which is biting harder in the developed world, and the availability of cheap labour in the emerging markets are likely to attract international investors to the telecom sector in the emerging markets such as Nigeria if the environment is right.

Such enabling environment, Shonekan said should include tax holidays for new companies that are willing to set up telephone accessories manufacturing or assembling firms in the country.

According to him, most telecom sets and allied gadgets are imported into the country and that if Nigeria continues to rely on importation, it will be helping other countries to grow their economies.

" If we are encouraged to produce here, more jobs would be created, there would be less youth moving into crime as a result of lack of employment opportunities, while capacity utilization would move up in the industries", he said.

Shonekan said the bold step that Anabel has taken has the capability of improving Nigeria's image in the international community and that the company has challenged others in the It to come out to show case their own brands of products that would place Nigeria higher in the market.

According to him Nigeria has the advantage of large market for goods and services and that is why it must ensure that it remains the African hub from where innovations would emerge and flow to other African countries and beyond.

Shonekan noted that Nigeria has become the fastest growing telecommunications market and one of the first 10 largest markets in the world.

He said Anabel's brand of SmartPhones would carry customized applications and localized features tailored for the Nigerian environment. It will contain Nigerian music, carry local stock market reports and analysis, provide Nollywood movie clips and also have local and international money transfer capabilities.

Managing Director of Anabel Mobile Nicholas Okoye said that the company will provide an enhanced communications experience for its customers and will do this with the best the world has to offer in terms of entertainment content, educational content, stock market reports, sports and the economy.

He said Anabel Mobile will go far and wide to identify the latest technologies out there and bring them home for Africa and ensure that Nigeria becomes part of the development of new technologies and get African own technicians to understudy the most complicated aspects of design and production.

Okoye said Anabel's SMART Phones which it is introducing into the market is the most sophisticated tool that can deliver on the promises of convergence giving the consumer the ability to enjoy video, develop and edit documents, listen to and transfer music.

Anabel collaborated with Microsoft which offered its Window operating system, while Samsung manufactured the CPU and the chip by Infineon.

Anabel's Smart phones, according to Okoye have certified by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC)

The NCC Executive Vice Chairman Engineer Ernest Ndukwe who was at the event approved the Anabel phone.